Deserts and Life

The Thar—or Great Indian—Desert is the most densely populated desert in the world and has been inhabited for thousands of years. Huge windblown seas of sand dominate the desert with some dunes reaching close to 500 feet in height. Extreme temperature shifts, from near freezing to more than 120 degrees, make life difficult for all who call the Thar home.

The Atacama Desert of northern Chile is the world's second driest region (icy Antarctica is first). Although the Tropic of Capricorn passes through the region, the Atacama Desert lies in the rain shadow of Chile's Coast Range, which squeezes out the moisture from the atmosphere.

Vast swathes of Australia hold sandy deserts, where aboriginal people have found ways to survive. Find out more about the Australian outback - a place where plains stretch to eternity and people can yarn forever.

The Gobi Desert is the largest desert region located in Asia, spanning the north / north-western part of China and the south of Mongolia. The desert is surrounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands of Mongolia. It is the fifth largest desert in the world.

Because of its lack of water and good routes, the Judean wilderness has been (mostly) uninhabited throughout history. The Judean Desert is bordered by the Mountains of Judea to the west and by the Dead Sea to the East. It is considered a relatively small desert, spanning only 1,500 square kilometers. Mountains, cliffs, and chalk hills stand alongside plateaus, riverbeds, and deep canyons.

The Namib Desert is often referred to as the world's oldest desert and has been in existence for some 43 million years, remaining unchanged in its present form for the last 2 million years. The Namib is an immense expanse of relentlessly moving gravel plains and dunes of all shapes and sizes that stretch along the entire coastline.